Primo ad complaint dismissed by ASB

A complaint about a Primo bacon television advertisement has been dismissed by the Advertising Standards Board (ASB).

The ad in question features the line “Australia’s favourite bacon”, a statement the complainant said inferred Primo bacon is made from Australian pork.

In responding to the complaint, Primo said that it “respectfully disagrees” that the statement infers its bacon is Australian.

Primo said that it believes most of those watching the ad would understand “Australia’s favourite bacon” means most Australians prefer Primo bacon over other bacon, not that it is made from Australian ingredients.

“Primo submits that the plain meaning and common usage of “Australia’s favourite” as would be understood by the market audience is to make a preference claim, in this case to the effect that more Australian’s prefer Primo to any other brand of bacon,” Primo said to the Board.

The Advertising Standards Board dismissed the complaint saying the complainant’s interpretation of the ad was unlikely to be shared by the broader community.

“The Board considered that the advertisement did not depict material which was misleading or deceptive and determined that the advertisement did not breach Section .1 of the Food Code,” the Board said in its case report.